The life of Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) was an Italian Renaissance physicist, astronomer, and mathematician now widely regarded as one of the fathers of modern physics and who was a key figure in the scientific revolution. Galileo’s contributions to astronomy, mechanics, and physics cannot be overstated, and his approach to experiments is the foundation of the scientific method even today.

Galileo Galilei’s rise to fame

Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Tuscany, then part of the Duchy of Florence and today Italy. Hewas the first of six children of Giulia Ammannati and Vincenzo Galilei, a music theorist responsible for Galileo’s skepticism of authority.

When he was eight, he began his education at Vallombrosa Abbey, a monastery some 30 km southeast of Florence. Later, he went on to study at the University of Pisa, where his passion for astronomy was born. He studied speed, velocity, and gravity, and he popularized the use of telescopes and thermoscopes, the latter of which he invented.

As his ground-breaking research went on, his fame grew, and he eventually became a professor at the University of Padua and Pisa, where he served as the Chair of Mathematics and taught geometry, astronomy, and mechanics, and where some of his most astonishing ideas about gravity were born.

The discovery of Venus and the moons of Jupiter

One of Galileo’s most significant scientific contributions was the discovery of the moons of Jupiter in 1610, which helped confirm and solidify the Copernican view of a heliocentric solar system as correct, debunking the previously held geocentric, Aristotelian/Ptolemaic view which postulated all celestial bodies revolved around the Earth. Further evidence was gathered by observing Venus, which led Galileo to confirm that it orbited the Sun after noticing that it shifted phases like the Moon, which would not be possible under Ptolemy’s geocentric model.

The telescope to observe the sky at night

Galileo, of course, used a telescope to observe the phases of Venus and establish the Copernican system as correct. The first telescopes were invented during his time, and he was one of the first to use them to their full extent by combining a convex lens with a concave one to increase the range of the device and observe the Milky Way. Galileoi created a telescope that could magnify up to 8 or 9 times, which he demonstrated to Venetian lawmakers in 1609. There is also a famous painting by by Giuseppe Bertini showing the Doge of Venice how to use a telescope.

The physics enhancement of falling objects

In addition to astronomy, Galileo’s work covers fields such as motion and mechanics, with an emphasis on the behavior of falling bodies. He famously proved that all objects, no matter their mass, fall on the ground at the exact same time, which was even confirmed during the Apollo Moon mission. Galileo’s work on gravity laid the necessary groundwork for Isaac Newton and his laws of motion.

The physics enhancement of inertia

The law of inertia states that an object seeks to remain static or continue moving in a straight line when in motion until an external force causes it to swerve or move, and Galilei proved that by theorizing on objects moving along horizontal planes without friction. His theories also influenced Newton’s second law of motion, a basis for modern science, which states the acceleration of the object is proportional to the force applied to it.

Galileo Galilei’s early childhood interest in physics and mathematics

Galilei was interested in science from an early age, apparently conducting some experiments with his father when he was a child. Although he was studying medicine and preparing to become a physician, his interests in natural philosophy and sciences, especially mathematics, quickly became a passion when he went to the university, where he became fascinated with the works of Aristotle, Archimedes, and other Greek philosophers.

The challenges Galilei’s faced with science, the Catholic Church, and religion

Galilei’s distrust of established authority and his scientific theories led to many challenges he had to face after falling out of favor with his professors, other members of the scientific community (such as the Jesuit Christoph Scheiner), and Rome, that is, the Catholic Church with Pope Urban VIII leading an Inquisition against him and his heliocentrism. This is where is famous quote of “And yet it moves” or “Although it does not move” supposedly comes from when forced to publicly recant his claim of heliocentrism, but still emphasized that the Earth does indeed still move.

The affair is hardly surprising, considering Galilei’s cosmology and Copernican theory were contradicting the mainstream tenets of the Church, which exercised a great deal of power in the scientific domain. Eventually, Galilei was banned from discussing his work publicly.

Nonetheless, his research went on, and it culminated with the publication of his 1632 book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which summarized his theories of Earth not being the center of the universe. The book caused a scandal, and Galilei was charged with heresy and labeled an enemy of God and the Scripture, which led to him spending the rest of his life under house arrest. During his house imprisonment, he wrote another book titled The Two New Sciences, which discussed kinematics in great detail.

Despite being at war with the Church, he enjoyed great favor among the Medicean royalty, with Cosimo II de’ Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, being his patron. In 1992, Pope John Paul II admitted the Church had wronged Galilei.

When it comes to his personal life, Galileo had three children with Marina Gama, although they never married. His daughters Virginia and Livia entered the convent San Matteo in Arcetri and become nuns (taking on the names Maria Celeste and Arcangela, respectively), while his son Vincenzo become Galileo’s legitimate heir later in life and married a woman named Sestilia Bocchineri.

More Speechify audiobooks

Are you a fan of Galilean theories on motion, relativity, and gravity? Do you want to delve deeper into the mysteries of the universe by stepping away from Galileo’s telescope and focusing on his writing? You can listen about his discoveries and opinions at Speechify, along with biographies by authors James Reston and Mario Livio.

Speechify is a new audiobook platform with tens of thousands of non-fiction titles covering topics such as astronomy, mathematics, and physics, and you can listen to them masterfully narrated for as little as $1 a month. Download Speechify on your phone, tablet, or computer today, and explore the universe on the go.

FAQ

What is Galileo Galilei most famous for?

Galilei is most famous for his theories on heliocentrism, his pioneering of the telescope and spyglass, and his research on Saturn’s rings, sunspots, Moon craters, Mercury, and the science of motion. He wrote multiple books on various scientific subjects, including The Starry Messenger (Sidereus Nuncius), Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, and Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Relating to Two New Sciences (published in Holland, outside jurisdiction of the Inquisition), and he was in correspondence with other scientists of his time, such as Tycho Brahe.

You can learn more about this famous scientist from The Galileo Project, developed by Albert van Helden, Elizabeth S. Burr, Krist Bender, Adam C. Lasics, Adam J. Thornton, Martha A. Turner, Nell Warnes, Lisa Spiro, and Megan Wilde.

What 3 things did Galileo discover?

His most important discoveries were the Moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and the law of falling bodies.

Who is the father of science?

There are many scientists given the moniker father of science, including Aristotle, Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, and Nicolaus Copernicus.